Sarehole
Encyclopedia
Hall Green
Not to be confused with Hall Green, Wolverhampton or Hall Green, SandwellHall Green is an area and ward in south Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(formerly in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, but transferred to the city in 1911). Sarehole, a name no longer used in addresses, was a hamlet which gave its name to a farm (now built over) and a mill. It extended from the ford at Green Lane, southwards for about a mile, along the River Cole
River Cole, West Midlands
The River Cole is a river in the English Midlands. It rises in Redhill, near Kings Norton, South of Birmingham. After flowing through Birmingham, it passes Coleshill, to which it gave its name. It joins the River Blythe, of which it is a tributary, near Ladywalk, shortly before the Blythe meets...
to the Dingles. Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
have named the segment of the path along the Cole southwards from Sarehole Mill the John Morris Jones Walkway
John Morris Jones Walkway
John Morris Jones Walkway is a path on the River Cole in Hall Green, Birmingham, England . It is part of the Shire Country Park....
after a local historian.
J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
lived there as a child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
in the 1890s, and the area influenced his description of the green and peaceful country of the Shire
Shire (Middle-earth)
The Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works. The Shire refers to an area settled exclusively by Hobbits and largely removed from the goings-on in the rest of Middle-earth. It is located in the northwest of the continent, in...
in his book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s. The nearby Moseley Bog
Moseley Bog
Moseley Bog is a nature reserve in the Moseley area of Birmingham in England, at .It was once a secondary reservoir to feed the millpond of Sarehole Mill. Although now drained, the embankment on its eastern side remains...
(now a nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
) was probably the inspiration for the Old Forest
Old Forest
In J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Old Forest is a small forested area which lies east of the Shire in Buckland....
- and the hill on which Spring Hill College
Moseley School
Moseley School: A Language College is a large comprehensive school in the Moseley area of Birmingham, England. It has a predominantly male, Muslim student population...
stands, which even today, according to local legend, is criss-crossed with secret tunnels, could easily have become Tolkien's Bag End.
Sarehole Mill
Sarehole Mill
Sarehole Mill is a Grade II listed water mill on the River Cole in Hall Green, Birmingham, England. It is now run as a museum by the Birmingham City Council. It is one of only two working water mills in Birmingham, with the other being New Hall Mill in Walmley, Sutton Coldfield.Built in 1542 on...
, which also influenced the young Tolkien, is a water-driven mill
Watermill
A watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
, now a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
, within the Shire Country Park
Shire Country Park
The Shire Country Park is a country park in the south of Birmingham, England.It is named for Tolkien's ShireIt includes Sarehole Mill, Moseley Bog and parts of the River Cole.-External links:**...
. During the 18th century the mill was leased by Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...
, one of the pioneers of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
and leading figure of the Lunar Society
Lunar Society
The Lunar Society of Birmingham was a dinner club and informal learned society of prominent figures in the Midlands Enlightenment, including industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 in Birmingham, England. At first called the Lunar Circle,...
, for scientific experimentation.
Sources
- Hall Green and Hereabout, John Morris JONES, ed. Michael Byrne 1989 , (Birmingham Libraries Catalogue)
- Here and Then - The past of Our District, John Morris JONES, (Birmingham Libraries Catalogue)